It’s been another unexciting week. Monday was the annual boiler service. It was only exciting in that the engineers didn’t arrive until just after the two-hour window of 8-10 a.m. I’d been given. I needn’t have got up so early. But while I waited, I finished off the second shoulder, joined it to the matching back shoulder, and picked up stitches for the neckband.
One project I’ve been working on throughout the week is a website for a group I belong to. Since first building it several years ago, the software has changed and there’s been a steep learning curve to update and revamp it. It’s nearly ready, and the last thing is to puzzle out how to upload it from the test site to to the live site.
Kidney vetch
Other projects have included work on my brother-in-law’s Estate, a gift that keeps on giving. We’d hoped to have vacant possession of the rental properties by now, but only one of four is vacant and on the market. With two, the tenants have expressed an interest in buying. With the fourth, the tenants know they must move but haven’t, so proceedings to regain possession of the property were begun this week. Thankfully, the landlord insurance includes legal cover, and the insurers will handle it all. Then there was a form to complete and send to the tax office, who taking a detailed look into my brother-in-law’s affairs. And finally, a very low offer for the property on the market was declined.
Wind on the marsh
Later in the week, an appointment for a home chargepoint installation was received. Unfortunately, it’s not until the end of July, and I’ll be spending time at public chargepoints with my knitting until then. I’ll be very glad when the chargepoint is installed as I’ll be able to charge the car overnight.
The bugbear of the week has been the new smart meter. The electricity part is very smart indeed – in an app, I can see a spike when the kettle is boiled – but the gas part is very dim – there’s only been one reading since installation. I’ve moved it several times, once to a few feet from the gas meter, with no success. However if it’s that close to the gas meter, it’s too far from the electric meter. I await a solution from the energy supplier.
Rocks and Seaweed
As you can see from the photo, the neckline is finished. It’s been knit back and forth in 1×1 ribbing, with a small tab for buttonholes at one end. Buttoned necklines are a common feature in the old photos, and the original of this gansey has buttons on both sides. It has a ‘straight’ neck which probably required buttons, while my version has a shaped neck, and the buttons will be purely decorative. I was hoping to fit three, but the ribbing became too deep and rows were ripped out. And then, happy day, the stitches for the first sleeve were picked up and the sleeve started. The armband pattern will start after about an inch. I should be well into that by next week.
The old car was retrieved from the garage last Monday afternoon, where it had been languishing. With a leaking petrol tank, it felt safer to leave it there. I emptied it when I got home, discovering nine-year-old petrol receipts, a pair of Gordon’s winter gloves, masks from the Covid era. Then I decided not to hoover it, reasoning that when it was traded in, they’d be looking at the car itself, not the grit on the floor.
St Fergus across the fields
The next day, Tuesday, was a momentous day, for it was the day to drive down to Inverness to collect the new auto. It was a slow drive south, with dawdling drivers and caravanning caravans, and a multi-vehicle pile-up which slowed traffic considerably. At the dealership, after a brief wait the necessary paperwork was taken care of, and with nary a glance or final farewell to the old car, I was introduced to the new. I’d spotted it as I arrived, right by the doors. ‘Sunset orange’ turns out to be ‘brick’ or ‘terracotta’. The salesman walked through some of the car’s features, and then it was time to drive off. “Are you scared?”, he said. “Yes”, I squeaked, though probably more apprehensive than scared.
By now, I am getting the hang of it. The adaptive cruise control is useful, though not on bendy roads. The ‘heads-up’ display is also handy – it’s a projection on the inside of the windscreen of essential information like speed limit and travel speed, and means you needn’t glance at the instrument cluster. There’s a sunroof, automatic wipers, wireless phone charging. One of the features I like best is the cooled seats. I’m not sure exactly how they work, but becoming hot in regions the air conditioning can’t reach is a thing of the past.
Car knitting
Figuring out how to charge it has been an adventure too. The first time, I stood in the windy supermarket car park trying to get it to work. Eventually unplugging and replugging the cables seemed to work, and perhaps also some patience. Waiting for the phone, chargepoint and car to communicate with each other isn’t instantaneous. I was disappointed to come out from the supermarket to find that the car still had hours until fully charged. All part of the learning curve – the charger wasn’t one of the superfast ones. I’ll be able to charge at home eventually, but in the meantime, I’ll take it to a chargepoint and either wait or find something else to do for several hours. I’ve started some car knitting for the waits – a pair of socks, which are small, portable, and easy to pick up and put down.
And this is what it looks like
The first half of the neckline is now done on the gansey, knit up to the shoulder and bound off together with the back. The other side is well under way and should easily be completed by next week. And then, the sleeves. These will have a plain section followed by a band of netting like the bottom of the yoke. Then it’ll be plain sailing down to the cuff. Can’t wait.
Aftermath. The origin of the word sparked my curiosity last week, and it turned out to be very interesting. It first appears as ‘after math’. ‘Math’ doesn’t refer to mathematics but comes from an Old English word for a mowing, or part of a crop that has been mowed, a ‘mowth’. So, when you mow your lawn, what you tip in the bin or hurl on the compost is a math. The aftermath is what grows after the first mowing, a second crop. It’s first recorded in 1496, and by 1656 it had taken on the meaning we use today.
Wind turbine parts expected
It’s been a slightly busier week than normal. Last Monday, a ‘smart’ meter was finally installed, after a wait of over five years. On a whim a while ago, I’d checked the supplier’s website, and was astonished when there was an appointment available. But I didn’t really expect that one would be installed. It didn’t become a reality until the installer got in touch a few days beforehand. In few hours, it was installed, but unfortunately it still isn’t working properly – the electric shows up, but not the gas.
Rain on grass
One of my other activities for the week has been reading the online version of the new car’s manual. It’s long, and tedious, but went more quickly when I realised much of it was repetition. I’m still none the wiser with many of the settings and features. It’s one of those things where you need to read it while in the vehicle.
Aliens
Speaking of the car, the one I’ve chosen is the Kia EV3, in ‘sunset orange’. Their colour choices were only grey, black, white, a very pale green, or orange; the orange was the only ‘free’ colour. It’s not available in North America, and is a cut-down version of the EV9, which is. The other news about the car is – it’ll be ready to pick up on Tuesday, in Inverness. It’s all rather exciting. I’ll be having a home chargepoint installed too.
More grass
On Thursday last week – and this is good news for my street – the potholes were finally repaired. They’ve been gradually enlarging over the years; residents drive like drunkards to avoid them. The patches are unsightly, but it’s better than unofficial previous attempts at repair by filling the holes with chippings or gravel.
a texture of creels
With the gansey, the accelerator is flat on the floor now that the neckline is started, about three inches from the top of the shoulder. For the final width, I’ve used the photo as a guide – the edges of the neckline are in the middle of the cable panels, which is about the centre one-third. For the shaping, I’m dividing the centre one-third stitches by four. The first and last quarters are added to the respective sides, leaving one-half in the centre. Then each shoulder is decreased by 1 st every right side row until the centre of the cable panel, when it’s knit straight until the correct length.
And if you’re interested, the OED’s word for the day is opsomania: an excessive craving for a particular food, esp. a delicacy.
Aftermath. The day after my trip, I returned the rental, which is conveniently at the garage where my car is serviced; I’d left it there for diagnosis. The prognosis wasn’t good – any repairs would be more than the car was worth. The problem was what I’d expected – a leaking petrol tank. They confirmed it felt ‘damp’ at the central seam. It might be o.k. to drive ‘as long as I didn’t fill it up’, and would probably be fine to drive to a dealer to trade it in. It sounds simple, take one tank out and install another, but if the supports and pipework become dislodged, then they too need repair.
Happy Bee
Well, I’ve been considering a new car for nearly a year, and particularly since I’ve been travelling so much. Now the search needed to begin in earnest. There are many choices when searching for cars: size, fuel type, color, trim level, cost, etc. Initially, I’d considered a petrol hybrid, but recently I’ve thought of making the switch to electric. In the past, an EV wasn’t feasible due to cost and limited range. Now, the range has increased while cost lowered, reaching that sweet spot of affordability and range.
Rosa rugosa
The internet is perfect for things like this. I’ve scoured it in depth for reviews, opinions, specifications, how-tos, finance options. Finally, I narrowed the choices to three vehicles, all electric. Two were slightly larger than the current vehicle in width and length, but taller – more of an SUV than a hatchback shape. The third was smaller, cheaper, and slightly bonkers. The final decision of which to test drive came down to two factors: safety and ‘vibe’. I felt the smallest might less safe, plus its range wasn’t as great as the others. Of the other two, one had a better ‘vibe’. It’s not a rational reason, but it is a reason, and I booked a test drive for last week.
Lichen
The dealership is in Inverness, and, still reluctant to drive my car more than necessary, I commandeered a friend for the road trip. We were late getting there, due to my fallible memory. The ‘sales executive’ was pacing outside, and was visibly relieved when we arrived. After a brief tour of the model in the showroom, the test drive was soon arranged. I was wrongfooted when we were given the choice to drive on our own or accompanied. The sales exec remarked that we’d pay more attention to the car if he weren’t there. A test drive without the distraction of a salesperson sounded ideal, and off we went, through the countryside and along a highway, and thoroughly enjoyed it. There were no annoying niggles in the car that might rule it out. And so, feeling very grown-up, I bought it.
Armeria maritima – sea thrift
‘Slow and steady’ is the principle I’m applying to this gansey. My progress is relatively slow compared to Gordon’s, but then I don’t knit hours a day the way he did. After five months, I’m just over halfway up the front. It’s getting easier as I go along, and I’m remembering to cross the cables consistently. This has been a slight problem as the crossings are done from the back. Several times I’ve had to reknit sections where I just didn’t get it right, either in a cable or elsewhere.
This week, the last episode of the tale of my last trip south. On my last day at the family home, the broadband was finally installed. It’s been a long process, starting last August, when the order was placed. The trunk cable had been laid along the lane years ago.
The next step was for the internet provider to extend the cable over the canal to the house. That was supposed to occur at the end of September, but a network problem caused a further delay of 3-6 weeks. By mid-November, there was another delay when they needed to apply for temporary traffic lights to extend the cable. Trudge forward to the end of January, and the work has been done, but broadband can’t be installed until I’m next down in March; someone must be at the property. Accordingly, I made an appointment for March.
At last, rain
On 20 March, a team visits to see what is required to get the cable to the house. Unfortunately, bushes or trees need to be pruned, as they the route of the cable. They’ll hire a specialist tree surgeon to do it. In April I made another appointment for installation in May. A week before, the team visits again and brings the cable over the canal. A week later, the installer arrives. He needs to get to the base of the house wall – did they not tell you those bushes need to be trimmed? A search through sheds provides me with usable tools and in a few minutes there’s a space. At last, he can install the broadband. Of course, it doesn’t work right away. The installer says it occasionally happens. An hour or so later, it finally works, and I have a whole two hours to use it, but no time to do so because I’m packing the car to leave the house for probably the last time. My thought was to have it available for my visits to the house, and that it would be a plus point when the house is sold. Now it’s just a plus point.
First iris of the year
The next stop on the trip was Southport to visit another old friend of ours for a few days. We had a day in Liverpool, seeing the sights, visiting fabric, window shopping in John Lewis. In the evening, we had dinner at a very nice restaurant in Southport. It was a lovely visit.
Colin and Gordon as boys in New Zealand
The final stop was Edinburgh, where I again stayed with my friend. One of the highlights of that visit was seeing the white smoke drifting out of the Sistine Chapel chimney soon after I arrived, heralding a new Pope. The other highlight was taking some items from the house to two of Colin’s cousins in Scone. Their father was Colin & Gordon’s uncle. An amateur painter, he gave three paintings to the Reids. There was also a cake stand which I was once told was made by Grandfather Reid. The uncle’s daughters were pleased to be remembered and were pleased to have the paintings and other items.
Alchemilla mollis
Finally, after another night in Edinburgh, I headed home. It was a full, busy trip and I saw new and old friends, and got done what needed to get done. So, a successful trip too. Driving up and down the country like a yo-yo is made much more pleasant when there are friends to visit.
With the gansey, I’m still slogging along. The front is now separate from the back and is looking fine. I’m getting into the rhythm of it now. The extended gussets look decidedly odd, however. I may sew them together, so they look more like ‘proper’ gussets. Or it’s also possible that when the front is done I’ll frog the lot in disgust. Sometimes it’s best to start over.
It’s been another unexciting week. Monday was the annual boiler service. It was only exciting in that the engineers didn’t arrive until just after the two-hour window of 8-10 a.m. I’d been given. I needn’t have got up so early. But while I waited, I finished off the second shoulder, joined it to the matching back shoulder, and picked up stitches for the neckband.
